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What to Eat with Diabetes: Top Crackers

Looking for a nutritious and delicious cracker to snack on? Try one of our 18 cracker winners or finalists that are dietitian-approved and taste-tested. We conducted blind taste panels with more than 100 people, including people with diabetes, and named the top-rated crackers the winners of our Diabetic Living What to Eat contest.

Please note that product information, packaging, and availability may have changed since our story first appeared.

Taste-Tested and Diabetes-Friendly

The search for a healthy cracker that also tastes good just got easier. Here are our taste-tested, top-rated best crackers for people with diabetes.

Through a series of dietitian approvals for nutritional requirements and taste tests with more than 100 people, including people with diabetes, we narrowed 60 qualifying crackers down to six winners and 12 tasty Diabetic Living What to EatTM finalists. Pick up a box today to add a healthful snack option to your pantry!

Nutritional Guidelines
Every cracker tested had to meet these health requirements per serving:
- 200 calories or less
- 5 g total fat or less
- 2 g saturated fat or less
- 0 g trans fat
- 25 g carbohydrate or less
- 250 mg sodium or less
- At least 1 g fiber per 15 g carb.

Cracker Chip Finalists

Is it a cracker or is it a chip? There is a new snack category on supermarket shelves called "cracker chips". We decided these foods are typically thin-and-crispy versions of crackers, so we included them in our cracker contest. Our taste-testers found the cracker chips to be packed with flavor and highly snackable. Here are the runners up in the Cracker Chips category:

Woven Wheat Cracker Finalists

Woven wheat crackers are a great-tasting source of fiber. Look for options that list "whole wheat" as the first ingredient on the Nutrition Facts label. The finalists in the Woven Wheat Cracker category had reduced fat, good flavor, and just the right touch of salt. Here are the runners up in the Woven Wheat Cracker category:

Taster's comment: "These have a nice hint of salt and a nutty, buttery flavor."

Why it won: We appreciated the generous serving size of 15 crackers, as well as the generous dose of fiber per serving. Tasters appreciated the buttery flavor these woven wheat crackers had compared to others in the category.

Pita Cracker Finalists

Though often called pita chips or pita crisps, the entries in this category had a texture, denseness, and ingredients list closer to a cracker, so we included them in our cracker contest. The top-rated pita crackers were crisp, flavorful, and strong enough to hold a scoop of dip without being too dry or hard to chew. Here are the runners up in the Pita Cracker category:

Why it won: Many tasters noted the difference in texture of the pita crackers: some were thin and easily breakable, while others were almost too hard to chew. The finalists in this category struck a nice balance of crispness while still being tender. We like how the winning pita crackers have no saturated fat and the lowest sodium in the category.

Multigrain Cracker Finalists

The crackers in the multigrain category boasted whole grains and seeds on the ingredients list and a healthful dose of fiber in each serving (at least 1 g fiber per 15 g carbohydrate). Here are the runners up in the Multigrain Cracker category:

Herb-Flavor Cracker Finalists

There are so many unique flavors of crackers on store shelves that we just had to include this category in our cracker contest. We were happy to see the crackers in this category still qualified for our sodium requirement of 250 milligrams or less, and they also had some of the highest amounts of fiber per serving. The winning flavors included mixes of savory herbs and garden vegetables. Here are the runners up in the Herb-Flavor Cracker category:

Why it won: Tasters noted how the rosemary was not overpowering, but rather the perfect complement to the crisp wheat texture and buttery flavor. We like this food as a flavorful and satisfying 1-carb-choice snack.

Gluten-Free Cracker Finalists

More gluten-free products entering the market means more options for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, as well as those who want to eliminate wheat and other gluten-containing foods from their diet. Here are the runners up in the Gluten-Free Cracker category:

Why it won: Tasters really enjoyed the texture and flavor of the Crunchmaster brand crackers in this category. The winning crackers are made from brown rice flour, whole grain yellow corn, and potato starch with sesame seeds, flax seeds, millet, and quinoa seeds.